Suicide amongst older adults is a neglected area of research, despite the fact it is a significant problem.

The suicide rate for adults 65 years of age or older rose in the US by 9% between 1980 and 1992. During that period, there were 74,675 suicides by elderly people.

In 1993, suicide rates ranged from 15 per 100,000 population, among persons 65 to 69 years old, to 24 per 100,000 population for persons 80 to 85 years of age, a rate that is double the overall US rate.

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It is suggested that minimum estimates of suicides among the elderly in the US range from 6000 to 10,000 annually. Often these suicides are not reported but are listed as accidental deaths. There are a number of resons for this underreporting:

Where older people die isolated and alone with no friends or family it is easier for the authorities to settle matters quickly.

Suicides are often mistaken for natural deaths, especially in cases of medicinal overdosing, because many older people take several medications.

There is a high rate among white males over 80 which is the fastest growing sub-population of elderly adults in the United States and they are at the greatest risk of all age, gender, and racial groups. The suicide rate for this group is six times the current overall rate and three times the rate of African-American males over 80 years old.
The incidence of suicide among males over 75 years old is roughly twice that of other adult males, while
white males are at nearly 10 times the risk for suicide as nonwhite males across the age spectrum..

In a US study in 1988, nearly 8 out of 10 suicides committed by men 65 years and above were done so with a firearm. Of the 6363 elderly adults who committee suicide in 1988, for example, 67% (4264) used firearms to end their lives. Hanging and poisoning were the second and third leading causes of suicide in this group.